Arizona weekly enterprise., 1887-07-30
ABOUT UMBRELLAS.
THEIR ORIGIN ASSOCIATED WITH
 SHADE RATHER THAN MOISTURE.

The Umbrella a Relic of Solar Wor-
 ship-Hfrs. Camps Sunshsde-The Fash-
 tonabIe Article - Folding Up R silk
 UmbreIIa-A Sure Test.
 There are those who suppose that the origin of the umbrella is to be sought for | in mans need of some portable protection | from the rain, which need found expres- sion in the invention of the modern um- brella. Philology and science however, point to different conclusion, the former | telling us that the umbrella is associated with shade rather than moisture, and tile 1 latter that it is relic of solar worship. The word tumbrella'' is Q reduplicated form of the Latin word umbra, signifying ssshade, and means really little shade, in the same way that caliga deggingS is father to the word "caligula" little leg gings).
 Having decided the origin of the word, we will next proceed to give the vlew of a certain learned specialist as to the deriva- tion of the article itself. The umbrella, according to our authority, is a relic of solar worship was probably imported from Persia, and its origin has no more to do with keeping off rain than with keep ing off lightning or thunderbolts. The Persians, it is well known, were worship CTS of the heavenly bodies, the sun occu- pying the same place among their hier- archy of deities as he does among his own orbs Viewing him as all powerful, as all intelligent, cognizant of tlse smallest act of their lives, the Persians hit at last upon sort of portable screen which they might interpose between themselves and his beams, securing for the former pri- vacy and for the latter ignorance of what his devotees were doing This may sound a rather far fetched theory, but it is prob ably the true one, and whether or no, it is certain umbrellas did not originate in either Europe or Ar:erica.
 THE UMBRELLA ABROAD.
 In Siam the possession of umbrellas is restricted to those of high rank, MT. Spen- l cer telling us that one of the titles of the dusky monarch there is King of the Um- brella Wearing Chiefs. In the two greet university towns of England etiquette dis | cOuntenances under graduates appearing on the streets with umbrellas, and only permits the airing of these luxuries to fel lows and graduates. In fiction the person of Mrs. Camp has conferred on the um- brella an immortality which not even the muse of tragedy could do., Indeed, the umbrella cuts but poor figure in the | flights of comedy or farce Mrs. Camps sunshade is so famous that it has given it's name to those fluffy, obese looking articles which one is apt to associate with the ranter of old times and with modern rep resentatives of the Lime Kiln club. The fashionable umbrella is as different d lSbking affair to one of these Gs it is pos 9ble to imagine. A greater contrast does pot exist between racer and a Clydes- Gale than between the modern umbrella land its woolly prototype of a generation llago. The former is made of silk, is in- lvariably black, brown or green in hue, is fitted to light but strong framework, and whether viewed as n use or an orna- ment is an eminently pleasing object tC
 contemplate
 The umbrella is sometimes used as a
 weapon of offense and defense, but is
 rather a poor affair. If you want tC
 strike your enemy q good ''swashine
 blow you had better have recourse [,
 some other implement than an umbrella
 Viewed in this light, it presents more ia
 cilities for being used stiletto wise than a.
 a claymore or cutlass. Everything to it.
 uses, and as you can't expect to keep rail
 oG with foil, so you must not hope tt
 draw blood with an umbrella. If the lat
 ter is disappointing as a weapon of offens1
 
 THE SILK UMBRELLA.
 If you are the possessor of silk um
 brell.l and are desirous of appraising it:
 merits, see what proportion the spread O
 it when open bears to the diameter wheI shut. To the extent the relation partake of the nature of an inverse ratio. to tha extent is your umbrella a good one. Fold ' ing up silk umbrella is quite an art, tn, ] acquisition of which seems wholly inlpos ) sible to some people. You should gathe i the tips firmly together in your rign hand, elevate your umbrella to an angl 3 of forty-ive degrees with the trunk of tn body; then, commencing at the bottom l with your left hand gather the folds c l the umbrella rapidly together, working l all the while toward the top. When yol haze got as far as the confining ban' J stop, adjust it, and your umbrella [ folded. A folded silk umbrella which ha y "bights" in it or measures more than tw : inches in diameter is q fraud or else it D owner does not possess the knack of fold | ing it up properly.
 In the case of Ashantee the umbrell
 has figured as a trophy, the great sun
 shade of King Coffee being all the Britis = have to show for their waste of blootl an e treasure in equatorial Africa.
 r The material, hue and poise of an uu Il brella arc so many criteria of respecti C biIity. A man may deceive with his Ina often, with his gloves seldom. but wit l. his umbrella never It is an unerrin !. test of character, a passport to gentility Il and nobody is quicker to recognize tn Ting Of the true metal in another or u detect the pretensiOns of the spurious one a than the true gentleman himself --Sa ,t Francisco Chronicle